University of Rochester (School of Medicine)

The first Dean of the Medical School, Nobel Laureate George Hoyt Whipple, M.D., came to Rochester in 1921 to put a revolutionary concept into practice. Whipple supervised the design, construction and staffing of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and Strong Memorial Hospital according to what was then a new framework advanced by medical-school pioneer Abraham Flexner. Whipple's vision, built on the philanthropy of George Eastman, was a school and a hospital under one roof that integrated basic science and clinical practice.

Today, that concept of physically integrating patient care and academics under one roof is still going strong. The main campus of the University of Rochester Medical Center covers over 4.4 million sq. feet of space. Strong Memorial Hospital covers 1.6 million sq. feet, the School of Medicine 2.1 million sq. feet, and the School of Nursing and the Eastman Dental Center about 100,000 sq. feet each.

Equally important, the integration of patient care and academics remains at the core of our School's philosophy and structure. Under the leadership of the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, the Dean of the medical school and the President of our hospital system work in partnership on a daily basis with Department Chairs, Center Directors, the Dean of the School of Nursing, the Director of the Eastman Dental Center, and the financial and administrative leadership of the Medical Center. Working so closely together is how we successfully fulfill our interrelated missions of patient care, education, research, and community health.

The faculty of the School consists of approximately 1200 full-time faculty members and 650 voluntary clinical faculty members organized into 32 Departments and Centers.

Clinical faculty members provide tertiary and quaternary services to the Upstate New York region and the Northeast, and also provide primary and specialty healthcare to our local population. They also train some 600 residents and fellows, who are drawn from all corners of the United States and beyond, to be the next generation of practitioners and academic leaders.

Research faculty have attracted external funding totaling approximately $200 million during the last fiscal year, divided evenly between basic and clinical research. Approximately $140 million was from the NIH and $60 million was from other federal agencies, from foundations and from industry. Our research portfolio has great depth and breadth. We have achieved top-15 rankings in NIH funding in biochemistry, microbiology and immunology, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, oral biology, and musculoskeletal research.

In Education, we train some 500 graduate students to become the fundamental, translational and clinical investigators of the future, maintaining the critical link between scientific discovery and improved health. In undergraduate medical education, the concept of integrating cutting-edge, evidenced-based medical science and the relationship-centered art of clinical medical practice is embodied in our new "Double Helix Curriculum," which combines basic science and clinical work throughout all four years of medical school (like the strands of a Double Helix). This blend of the art and science of medicine also distinguishes our post-graduate medical education, where 500 residents and 100 fellows receive intensive, specialized training in virtually all medical specialties and subspecialties.

While there are a number of external forces that have caused some to become cynical about the future of biomedical science and practice, I believe that this is an extremely exciting time to be working at an academic health center. The prospects for the creation and dissemination of medical knowledge have never been greater, and the application of this knowledge to patient care through translational research will be rewarded in longer and healthier lives. The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry is proud to be in the thick of the excitement.

The Double Helix Curriculum captures the integrated strands of basic science and clinical medicine as they are woven throughout the four-year curriculum. Each element of the curriculum strengthens Rochester's biopsychosocial tradition by fostering knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of the physician/scientist/humanist by combining cutting-edge, evidence-based medical science with the relationship-centered art that is medicine's distinctive trademark. The new Rochester curriculum is uniquely designed to train lifelong learners of medicine. Special emphasis is placed on skills acquisition and use.

Many of the applicants to the University of Rochester come because they have heard of the biopsychosocial model and they associate it with our medical school. The model was developed by Dr. George Engel who was a Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine. The biopsychosocial model takes into account the psychological, interpersonal and societal influences in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. The components of the biopsychosocial model complement the purely biomedical model of clinical care which focuses on pathology and the mechanisms of disease and therapeutics. Rochester stands out by virtue of paying attention to the biopsychosocial aspects in conjunction with the biomedical principles in delivering clinical care, providing education, community service and conducting research.

School of Medicine Medical School Location

School of Medicine Courses

FIRST YEAR COURSES

* Human Structure and Function : This 14-week course provides a rare opportunity to join the medical school curriculum in learning the essential concepts and mechanisms underlying human biology from an integrated perspective, including both basic and clinical applications. Didactic lectures are matched with problem-based learning sessions, problem-solving conferences, and laboratory exercises that introduce you to the systematic study of human structure and function. This integrated course encompasses the disciplines of anatomy, embryology, histology, and physiology. The course includes comprehensive laboratory sessions in gross anatomy and histology, and the qualitative and quantitative aspects of human physiology, including fundamental principles and clinical relevance. Students of the nervous system will appreciate first hand the intricacies and ubiquity of the brain's structural and functional interactions with the various systems of the body, as well as their developmental attributes. The course provides an introductory foundation for students interested in understanding and teaching these disciplines in undergraduate, graduate, allied health, and medical school settings.

* Cell and Molecular Physiology : This new course is aimed to provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of modern cell and molecular physiology – the basic concepts in the field, the principal research questions, and common methodologies. Emphasis will be on a quantitative approach wherever possible, and the implications of the cellular and molecular principles addressed to the overall physiology of the body, in both healthy and diseased states, will be discussed. Course content will particularly focus on cardiovascular, neurobiological, and epithelial/exocrine systems.

* Pharmacology : This course is the second semester of a two-semester immersion in human physiology and pharmacology in the context of certain diseases and therapeutic drug mechanisms. In this course, the diseases used to illustrate these principles include cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and inflammatory states. In addition, the various issues surrounding the general condition of heart failure are presented, including the physiology of both cardiovascular and renal systems. Finally, the response of the human body to the natural stress of exercise is used to illustrate how various physiological principles come together in a fully integrated fashion.

* Disease Processes & Therapeutics (DPT) : Modules 1 & 2 (previously known as Integrated Systems – Modules A & B), follow MBB. The two modules of DPT are comprised of pathophysiology, advanced topics in pathology and pharmacology across multiple systems (including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, hematology, and endocrine). Through your work in PBLs and small groups, you will continue to systematically approach the medical literature, evaluate new scientific studies, and apply them to PBL cases as well as to patient cases in your ACE preceptorships.

* Core Ambulatory Clerkship : In addition to a longitudinal experience with a single primary care physician throughout the year, you will have more exposure to pediatrics and new clinical experiences in a variety of medical specialties. Course and clerkship leadership have continued working together to foster integration across the basic and clinical science strands of our curriculum

YEAR THREE COURSES

* Medicine

* Obstetrics / Gynecology : This clerkship is organized into 2 week of obstetrics, 2 weeks of gynecology, and 1 week of ambulatory Ob/Gyn. The rotation will sequentially be followed by 2 weeks of Basic Science: "Genes to Generations".During your time with us, we will try to introduce you to specific clinical problems that affect women and broader concepts of primary care for women with emphasis on prevention and periodic screening. This will be accomplished by direct patient contact in clinics, floors, operating rooms, and labor and delivery suites. Also, structured learning experiences such as student-dedicated seminars, lectures, and case studies will supplement the clinical education.

* Pediatrics : The pediatric clerkship addresses issues unique to infancy, childhood, and adolescence by focusing on human developmental biology, and by emphasizing the impact of family, community and society on child health and well-being. Additionally, the clerkship focuses on the impact of disease and its treatment on the developing human, and emphasizes growth and development, principles of health supervision and recognition of common health problems. The role of the pediatrician in prevention of disease and injury and the importance of collaboration between the pediatrician and other health professionals is stressed. As one of the core clerkships during the third year of medical school, pediatrics shares with internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, neurology and surgery the common responsibility to teach the knowledge, skills and attitudes basic to the development of a competent general physician.

* Neurology : The General Neurology Residency Program emphasizes excellence in clinical neurology and has produced academic neurologists, practitioners of neurology, researchers, and teachers. The primary goals of the training program are to provide:- Excellent clinical training in the practice of neurology- Opportunities to take part in clinical research- Opportunities to develop and maintain an investigative career in the neurosciences- A sound fund of knowledge in the neurosciences upon which future educational activities can be added

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